49. Million Dollar Baby

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Hilary Swank took method acting a little too far while filming Million Dollar Baby. At some point during production, the actress contracted a bacterial infection from a blister developed during training.

Believing the the injury wasn't in her character, she kept it from director/co-star Clint Eastwood. Eventually it became so serious that Swank required a week off for treatment and rest.

Although, it could have been worse. Had the infection not been caught when it was, Swank could have ended up hospitalized for as much as three weeks to recover.

47. Major League II

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Everyone knows the Major League movies focus on the Cleveland Indians franchise, but when Major League II was set to film, the team was in a bit of a transition. They had moved out of Cleveland Municipal Stadium already, although Jacobs Field wasn't quite completed.

So much like the first movie, which was shot at Milwaukee County Stadium, the sequel wasn't shot in Cleveland at all. Instead it was filmed at Camden Yards in Baltimore, which is where the Orioles call home to this day.

46. Jerry Maguire

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At the time Jerry Maguire was released in 1996, there was no movie star in the world bigger than Tom Cruise. It was Cruise's fifth consecutive film to gross over $100 million at the box office, a new record.

The project took so long to get off the ground that it's lucky he landed in the part at all. The role was originally written for Tom Hanks, who was unable to commit due to a scheduling conflict.

Also considered to play Jerry Maguire? John Travolta. I know he wasn't as weird then as he is now, but that just sounds too weird for words.

45. Invictus

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Morgan Freeman, who played Nelson Mandela in Invictus, prepared for the role by spending countless hours watching and listening to him speak. Freeman said at the time that he didn't want to act like him, he wanted to be him.

And it was definitely time well spent. Freeman had mastered the part to such a degree that Mandela's personal assistant asked him to stop talking like his boss when they weren't filming so that he could tell the difference between the two.

44. Miracle

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A well-known nice guy, actor Kurt Russell, who played American Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in Miracle, took a pay cut so nearly 1,000 extras could have a hot meal during filming, rather than a bagged lunch.

43. A League of Their Own

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Tom Hanks gained just over 30 pounds to play the role of Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own. He gave a shout out to Dairy Queen for helping him to achieve that goal, which I'm sure they really appreciated.

That being said, I'm not sure how necessary to the story that weight gain really was. Dugan is an out-of-work alcoholic, but there are plenty of rail-thin boozehounds out there. Whatever though, obviously it worked.

40. Rocky II

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To train for the film, Sylvester Stallone really pushed himself to the limit physically. Shortly before Rocky II's final fight scene, he was bench pressing 220 pounds; the weight caused a painful tear in his right pectoral muscle.

Because of the timing of the injury, the scene couldn't be pushed back long enough to allow Stallone to heal. So the scene was shot with the film's star still very seriously injured and in a lot of pain.

39. Field of Dreams

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Notoriously private author J.D. Salinger was reportedly very displeased about the fictional portrayal of himself in W.P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe, which is the book Field of Dreams was based upon.

The lawyer of the late author made it clear that Salinger would be "unhappy if [the story] were transferred to other media." Facing what seemed to be a vague threat of legal action, the character Terrance Mann was created to replace any mention of the litigious Salinger.

37. The Mighty Ducks

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In The Mighty Ducks, producers got a little lazy with some details. For instance, the Ducks and the Hawks are the only teams in the league that have the kids' names on their jerseys. The rest of the league only has numbers.

Jerseys customized with names would have been an added expense, but you'd think it would be a relatively minor one in the budget of a major movie.

36. Eight Men out

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In Eight Men Out, the trial of the White Sox players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, for their roles in the notorious Black Sox betting scandal seems to play out between the 1919 and 1920 baseball seasons, neatly finishing up prior to the next season.

In reality, the wheels of justice turn much slower. The trial didn't even begin until 1921, finally wrapping up in August of that year.

28. Bring It on

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In Bring It On, the character Isis, who is played by actress Gabrielle Union, is a secondary character that doesn't get much screen time outside the group scenes with the Clover cheerleaders. But the part was originally a bit more substantive.

Though they didn't make the film's final cut, the trailer showed additional scenes from Isis' personal life, including one with her and a boyfriend. If that stuff was important enough to find its way into the trailer, there must have been a lot of Union left on the cutting room floor.

27. Kingpin

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In Kingpin, the scene in which Ernie McCracken bowled three strikes in a row isn't specially edited. Comedian Bill Murray really did bowl three strikes in a row, and the reaction from the crowd was completely genuine.

Co-star Woody Harrelson was not quite as naturally talented as Murray. The Farrelly brothers said Harrelson was an atrocious bowler and didn't bowl three strikes the entire time they were filming—one or two at the most.

26. Hoosiers

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Gene Hackman won critical acclaim for his portrayal of coach Norman Dale in the beloved classic Hoosiers, but he wasn't the first choice to play the role. Producers originally tapped the legendary Jack Nicholson, who had an exceptionally busy schedule at the time.

Had they wanted/been willing to wait a year to make the film, Nicholson would have committed to the project. After it was decided to move forward with production, they refocused on casting the role, ultimately landing on Hackman.

24. BASEketball

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The running time of BASEketball is 108 minutes. In the movie the word "dude" is spoken a total of 98 times, 21 of which were during an argument between Coop and Remer that consisted mostly of them repeating the word back to each other with different inflections.

Even though some of the dude-usage was condensed, that averages out to a "dude" every 1.1 minute. That's a whole lotta dudes.

22. Cinderella Man

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The fighting action in Cinderella Man was very real and Russell Crowe, who played the lead role of Jim Braddock, was really in shape for it. He lost more than 50 pounds off his usually full figure for the film.

Crowe also took some serious blows over the course of filming. He suffered several concussions, a few cracked teeth and a dislocated shoulder that delayed filming for nearly two months.

20. The Bad News Bears

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In The Bad News Bears, coach Morris Buttermaker, played by acting legend Walter Matthau, is essentially a foul-mouthed boozehound who, as it turns out, has a heart of gold. Well…maybe silver or bronze.

Buttermaker is more often than not seen with beer in his hand, but he doesn't seem to have any brand loyalty. He's seen drinking Budweiser, Miller High Life, Schlitz "Kingers," Pabst Blue Ribbon and original Coors.

The only brand that appears more than once is Bud. Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schlitz though? I guess coach Buttermaker was the original hipster.

16. Major League

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Although they got it right in the end, Major League was almost an entirely different movie. The original cut featured an ending in which not-so-evil owner Rachel Phelps reveals her nastiness was simply her attempt to fire the team up and prevent bankruptcy.

It didn't test well with audiences and was ultimately changed, with the part about relocating the team to Miami added in to give Phelps motive.

The relationship between Jake Taylor and Lynn Wells is the emotional subplot in the film, which almost culminated in a big, white wedding. There was actually a wedding scene shot, but producers decided to scrap it because it overemphasised their romance.

15. D2: The Mighty Ducks

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Early in D2: The Mighty Ducks, Team USA is completely demolished by Team Iceland at the Goodwill Games. Coach Gordon Bombay, played by Emilio Estevez, punishes the team by making them stick around long after the game to do sprints.

That scene was more based in reality than the rest of the movie. After Team USA tied with Norway in an exhibition game during the 1980 Olympics, American coach Herb Brooks made his boys stay so late that the rink manager turned the lights off on them.

14. All the Right Moves

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All the Right Moves is set in a Western Pennsylvania town called Ampipe, which is a steel town built up around the American Pipe and Steel Company; both of which were fictional. They were based on the town of Ambridge and the nearby American Bridge Company.

The director wanted stars Lea Thompson and Tom Cruise to go undercover as high school students to get a feel for their parts. Cruise's cover was blown the very first day, but Thompson lasted nearly a full week. She was asked out by a number of boys and even got caught smoking.

12. Million Dollar Baby

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Sandra Bullock has experienced a serious resurgence in her career over the last two years, but it may have started a bit earlier had she been able to play the lead role of Maggie in Million Dollar Baby, as was originally intended.

By the time the project found a director and got off the ground, Bullock had already committed to Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. That sequel may have been a winner at the box office, but it was an absolute bust with critics.

7. Caddyshack

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Caddyshack was actually inspired by writer Brian Doyle-Murray's memories of working as a caddy at a golf club. Working as a caddy must be pretty entertaining work at times, considering Caddyshack is generally considered one of the greatest comedies of all time.

It probably wouldn't be held in the same comedic esteem if the roles of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield were just cameos, as was originally intended. Their improvisational liberties and party atmosphere created by their presence didn't sit well with the rest of the cast.

Particularly with the cast members whose roles had been reduced by director Harold Ramis to give more screen time to the three comedians.

4. The Natural

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In the final scenes of The Natural, Roy Hobbs, played by actor Robert Redford, leads the New York Knights to a pennant win with a dramatic home run that blows out some of the lighting on the scoreboard. Hobbs rounds the bases for the final time in his career as sparks from above rain down on him.

The scene was actually inspired by a real-life event. In 1945, the Boston Braves' Bama Rowell doubled off the Ebbets Field scoreboard clock, showering Dixie Walker with glass. Apparently he was promised a free Bulova watch for hitting the company's scoreboard sign, which he finally received in 1987.

3. Slap Shot

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Anyone who saw Slap Shot at the theater and then later on home video may have been confused by a pretty significant change in the film. The change had nothing to do with the plot, but rather the soundtrack.

The vast majority of songs used in the movie's theatrical release were replaced by entirely different songs when it was later released on VHS and DVD. Apparently there were some major obstacles with the music licensing.

It wasn't until the 25th anniversary edition of the film was released that the original songs were finally restored.

2. Raging Bull

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Actress Cathy Moriarty, who played in Raging Bull, actually had her hair set with corn syrup for some ridiculous reason. It may have given director Martin Scorsese the look that he wanted, but it was perhaps a bit more trouble than it was worth.

The corn syrup became an issue with any scenes set outside because it attracted every bee within a five-mile radius. Okay…maybe not that many bees, but the last place anyone wants bees flocking to is their face.